Clock Inn Kandy – Luxury Capsule Beds and Start Point of the most scenic Train Ride in Sri Lanka

Welcome to Clock Inn Kandy, a beautiful, small hostel located inside a colonial building in the heart of Kandy, Sri Lanka. Kandy? This is where the most beautiful train ride of your life will start. Join our foot steps and then create your own!

The infobox on Clock Inn Kandy ⭐

Update: Unfortunately, Clock Inn Kandy Hostel closed. You can find all backpacker hostels in Kandy here.

We visited the Clock Inn Kandy Hostel. This is a full review for you including sights, a vibrant city and a wonderful hostel, your new home.

Join us and make sure you follow our guide to the 19 best things to do in Kandy.

Sri Lanka is a gorgeous country. It only recently became more and more popular. Located between India and the world-famous Maldives, it was not easy to shine. Yet, it does just that, and it is becoming more popular every month.

After visiting Bunkyard Hostels in Colombo, we stopped at Clock Inn Kandy.

These two destinations, Colombo and Kandy are the perfect introduction to Sri Lanka – and two of the country’s many must-visits.

Another great stop over is Weligama where you’ll find The Spindrift Hostel by the beach.

Read our complete guide to best hostels in Sri Lanka.

Find more videos of the 5 Star Hostels here.

Before we start, pack smart…

Remember to pack accordingly for staying in a hostel – yet, do not overpack.

Here’s our full packing list, including Noise-Cancelling ear plugs and your padlocks.

Full review of Clock Inn Kandy

Join us on our tour through the white colonial building, that houses Clock Inn Kandy.

We share the insights, what to expect, what kind of traveler you will meet and what Kandy has to offer.

There is a lot to see and experience.

Safe, cool and social

The Clock Inn in Kandy is the perfect hostel to stay in in Kandy.

It is highly recommended for solo-travelers (male and female) and couples at the same time. People staying here are really looking for the social experience.

The first steps towards the creation of the hostel were taken in 2010 in the form of a beautiful dream. The founders are so in love with their beautiful country, they wanted to share their passion for travel and showoff the true beauty of Sri Lankan hospitality to the world.

Sri Lankan hospitality is just wonderful – you will notice this right away all over the country.

Two years later, Clock Inn Colombo was born.

In 2012 they opened the first hostel in Colombo, and Clock Inn Kandy opened its doors in 2016.

The latest addition is Clock Inn Dehiwala, a colossal one hundred bed hostel – today the biggest in the country.

Who stays at Clock Inn?

You can expect a wide range of travelers with the same goal: Experience Kandy and socialize.

This is something very important to know as some hostels are not as social.

The best areas to hang out and meet people in are the lounge on the first floor and the rooftop at night.

Here you can meet solo-travelers and couples, and sometimes small groups.

There is a wide mix of nationalities.

We met people from India and all over Europe, we met

• Canadians,
• US citizens,
• Australians,
• Taiwanese,
• Korean and
• Japanese travelers.

There is not really one nationality that stands out. But what does stand out is that people are looking to socialize.

Clock Inn Kandy is not a party hostel, but a very social one.

You can have a few drinks on the roof top, play the guitar, hang out, play board games.

Events and Ambiance:

There are good vibes only as with all the 5 Star Hostels and Clock Inn Kandy is no exception.

It is an easy-going, social place to meet like-minded travelers.

The hostel hosts several events like dinner-nights and such. However, they do not do this on a regular basis and adapt to the travelers staying here.

If you are interested, they will put a dinner-night together on the upper floor, where the breakfast is served.

Wanna know how to make friends the fastest way in this hostel – and in any place in Sri Lanka?

Buy a bottle of Arrack.

Arrack is one of the most traditional drinks in Sri Lanka, besides tea.

It is a must-try, plus as you may have just purchased big bottle, it is perfect for sharing. It has a high percentage of alcohol: between 60 – 90%.

Read: How to build lifetime friendships in hostels – a hands-on guide

In the carefully designed lounge on the first floor you will find the famous book exchange, a TV and even a DVD player along with many many DVDs to watch. This is perfect for a quiet night in during the rainy season, right?

Our favorite activities however are the board games. There are several games, including the fun UNO cards.

Read: 18 hostel games to play and have fun

Breakfast at Clock Inn

Kick-starting the day with a solid breakfast; this is what I love.

Count on this here! The breakfast is available from 7 to 10:00.

Our breakfast is an ‘All you can eat’ and consists of eggs (prepared to your choice), sausages, noodles (on request), fruit, toast with butter/jam, cereal, tea/coffee, juice. Occasionally, they serve Sri Lankan specialities like hoppers

The hostel also have free tea/coffee all day for all guests staying at the property.

The rooms at Clock Inn Kandy

At Clock Inn Kandy you can select between private rooms, dorms, and even capsules – more on this later. As at every 5 Star Hostel, you have both options, private and shared.

Read: overview of different hostel room types

Let us have a look at the room types at Clock Inn Kandy:

Private rooms

The private rooms at Clock Inn are excellent!

They offer double rooms and single private rooms.

If you are traveling as a couple or just fancy privacy while sleeping and the socializing part of the hostel, this is the place to stay!

The rooms come with A/C (like the dorms), a complimentary bottle of water and super comfy pillows and blankets. The bathroom is very spacious, sparkling clean – the perfect setup for a hot shower.

There is also a TV to use.

You will sleep in queen-sized beds here!

Dorms

Clock Inn Kandy offers 6 bed mixed dorms and 8 bed dorms.

The shared bathrooms are right across the floor, and there is no shortage of facilities. There is a total of 4 toilets and 4 showers.

We always have a look for this, as many hostels unfortunately offer too few bathrooms for too many guests.

This can be annoying, especially in the morning rush hour, right?!

No worries here!

All dorms come with air conditioning and big lockers for your backpack. Remember, we always recommend staying safe and lock your belongings — always use the lockers in a hostel! Bring your own padlock, it’s recommended and cheaper. You can also purchase padlocks at reception.

Read: Are hostels safe? 10 safety tips

Read: the perfect hostel packing list – 23 items to throw into your backpack

Every bed has its own reading light, pillow, towel and blanket.

Everything is included, nothing is charged with an extra fee! The fast-as-lightning Wi-Fi is free, and you can surf from both from the lounge and dorms.

Capsule (our top recommendation)

Now, this is where the magic happens at Clock Inn Kandy!

The capsule beds catch the eye of every traveler that has looked at staying here.

We bet you’ve already seen a photo too!

On the top of the room (what do you mean?) you find 5 individual capsules with marvelous views over the city.

Very good to know: There are only 5 of these quirky capsule beds.

And they are really popular! If you fancy to stay in the capsule beds, make your booking as early as possible. If you are unlucky and they are all booked, let the team know you’d love to have one in case there is a cancellation. They will do their best to accommodate you.

The capsule beds also come with free bed linen, towels, and a fan. There is no air conditioning in these room types.

You will use the facilities of the dorms just one floor below.

The capsule beds are the unique room types.

What else you need to know?

The location is great, directly in the heart of downtown, and everything is walkable.

• There is a 24 hour reception which is very handy and makes it even safer!
• There is a work station to use free WiFi as well.
• There is a communal kitchen to use as well.

We did not use it, since eating out locally is cheap and super delicious. As always: It can be super spicy! If you cannot handle the heat, ask the waiter to make it less spicy – or not at all!

You can also enjoy coffee and tea 24 hours a day and snacks are available for sale in the lobby downstairs.

The team knows Kandy and Sri Lanka really well.

So ask at reception for what you are looking for.

You will get a free map. They are happy to help you with your train ride, monuments in Kandy itself, tours and other highlights like the local market.

Let them know as well when you need a tuk-tuk, they have their own driver or, if he is not available, they will help you to get a local price!

Very smart to ask: Ask the team about local festivities like celebrations. Sometimes, a few villages out of Kandy have small celebrations.

Sum it up

Clock Inn is one of the best hostels in Sri Lanka.

It is great to mingle, clean, perfect for every type of traveler looking for meeting people.

Therefore, include Kandy in your itinerary for Sri Lanka, stay at Clock Inn and enjoy the time here.

It is fantastic country to explore and a beautiful hostel to stay in.

And remember: Follow our foot steps, but always crate your own path!

Promo Code for Clock Inn Kandy

Fancy a promo code for Clock Inn Kandy? Who doesn't?!

Now, there is no easy way to say this: Currently we do not have a valid discount for Clock Inn Kandy. We are working on getting more promotional codes for Clock Inn Kandy in Kandy, Sri Lanka and all the other top hostels we reviewed for you.

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You can find all our current valid hostel promo codes here. We also share the latest up-to-date discounts by Hostelworld here.